1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a pluggable connector, and more particularly to a small form pluggable connector used in fiber or copper devices for high speed fiber optical communication.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various international and industry standards are provided to define electrical connectors and transceivers that are used to interface communication equipment and devices for networking applications. One of the standards is known as a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceiver receptacle. The conventional transceiver receptacle includes a pluggable connector and a metal cage for shielding against electromagnetic interference (EMI). The cage, which is significantly larger than the pluggable connector, is dimensioned to receive and guide a transceiver module into mating connection with the pluggable connector. However, each transceiver module is a discrete unit, and it is desired to integrate a plurality of transceiver modules on a printed circuit board, therefore there is a need to provide a plurality of pluggable connectors to mate with the transceiver modules.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,191 issued on May 6, 2003 discloses a stacked transceiver receptacle assembly having an intermediate printed circuit board. A plurality of first and second transceiver receptacles are mounted on respective opposite sides of the printed circuit board. Each of the first and second transceiver receptacles includes a pluggable connector disposed in a cage shielding. The pluggable connector is electrically connected to the intermediate printed circuit board and is configured for electrically mating with a respective transceiver, module. The cage is configured to receive and guide the respective transceiver module into mating with the pluggable connector. Due to multiple transceiver modules on the intermediate printed circuit board, the number of the pluggable connectors and the corresponding cages inevitably increases. Therefore, the conventional stacked transceiver receptacle still can not effectively minimize the required space. Furthermore, the cost of the product and assembly correspondingly increases.
Hence, an improved pluggable connector is desired to overcome the above problems.